recolle | Rumours | Semi-open

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ouroboros: ikuo ryuuzaki

Rumours | Semi-open

WHO: Kaiba, Fai, and anyone who has CR with them or can find a good reason to stumble into this mess
WHERE: Fai's apartment, anywhere Kaiba might be roaming to~
WHEN: Saturday, July 22 and possibly onward
WHAT: The local tabloids and a popular gossip blog have taken an interest in our favorite gaming CEO, since the convention is only a week away, and look at all this fun information they dug up! Or, certain details about Fai's past get shared for the whole city to see and he has a bit of a nervous breakdown. Friends, acquaintances, co-workers, or really anyone who knows them are welcome to contact or go visit Kaiba or Fai and deal with the fallout.
WARNINGS: Mentions of sex work, possibly some shaming of sex work, and someone having a panic/negative reaction to all of this. Also probably lots of crying. Recolle: the Soap Opera, continues.

[Saturday, Fai]

[Now that Seto is out of the hospital and things are starting to return to normal for Fai, he really has to make a run to the supermarket. Especially if he's going to start cooking more for his boyfriend, which he is absolutely going to do, because his boyfriend is adorable but an adorable dumbass who can't remember to feed himself properly. Fai doesn't normally pay attention to the trashy gossip rags at the checkout stand, but this time it couldn't help but catch his eye. Because that's a picture of Seto, and beneath it is a picture of Seto and Fai, together. They're on the front page of a gossip rag. What the hell? At least it's a cute picture of them, but...

...but that very clearly says, on the front cover just under the headline about Seto being admitted to the hospital, that Seto Kaiba is dating a former stripper.

Fai's not really sure how he got back home, honestly. He's pretty sure he had to drive to get home but he doesn't remember any of it, which is kind of a scary thought. The whole thing is a big blur of panic and anxiety and wanting to cry and wanting to scream. He doesn't tell anyone about his past for a reason, damn it! How could they... how could anyone do something like this? Now the whole city knows, or will know as soon as word gets passed around. All of his friends, all of his co-workers--oh god, work is going to find out! He's going to get fired.

Fai will be locking himself in his apartment and probably spending the rest of the weekend crying.]

[Saturday, Kaiba]

[Kaiba is out of the hospital as of Friday afternoon, ready to be done with that place and get on with his life. Saturday doesn't bring much in the way of activity, short of visiting the firing range, so there'll be plenty of time to bug him about the tabloids trying to dig up dirt on him just before the convention!]

[Wildcard, Kaiba or Fai]

[Got an idea of how your character would react to this? Lay it on us, friends! Just specify whether your response is for Kaiba or Fai ♥]

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[Jirou gets all the gossip due to having a mother as a fashion designer. So when he sees this, he packs up his dog and gets his driver to take him to where Fai lives. Knocking on the door, he looks down at Kenti.]

We have an important job today. Let's do good work.

[Then at the door...]

FaiFai! Open up! It's your favorite girl!

[ majima tries to avoid gossip columns but the truth is they come up a lot at work. the boys and girls read them both for pleasure but also to keep up with conversations and he can't say he really faults them for having material to talk about, even if he wishes that wasn't a really common side.

so when he hears about fai, his instinct is to go running to his place but he's unfortunately working and doesn't get off until 4 am so he takes a short nap and then runs over when it's normal....people's times. it's the soonest he could get there.

he's very worried about fai, given everything he knows about fai. he hadn't known about the accident or about his old work, but he did know that fai had suffered plenty of trauma. he wants to be there for him. ]

Hey, Fai, open up!

[It's easy enough to hear the knock at the door. Fai is buried in his bedroom with the lights off and a blanket wrapped around himself, but the apartment is small and he hasn't bothered to turn on any music, so the sound carries remarkably well. Thankfully so does Jirou's voice, because otherwise Fai would probably ignore that knocking until it went away.

As it is, it takes a few minutes before he can muster up the energy to drag himself, blanket and all, to the door. Unlike the way he would normally greet his good friend he only cracks the door open, peering through with puffy, red eyes.

He doesn't say anything. Just rests his head against the door frame.]

[Sunday shows some improvement from Saturday: Fai is still wrapped in a blanket, still in his clothes from yesterday and his hair is a rats' nest, but at least he's bundled up on the sofa rather than in bed! There's also a mostly empty bottle of liquor on the coffee table. Which is probably really stupid but Fai has a history of being very stupid about certain things.

There's a long moment of indecision when he hears Majima's voice. Majima has never been anything other than supportive--hell, he's one of the few people Fai's ever really opened up to. But that also means he's one of the people Fai is most afraid will come to think poorly of him.

Eventually he shuffles over to the door, cocooned in his blanket, and pulls the lock. Cracks the door and peeks through with eyes that have obviously been crying quite a lot lately.]

Hey.

[He immediately goes to gently push the door open more so he can lift his dog out and right into Fai's arms.]

Here's a fluff to cuddle. The cats are good too but this one gives kisses for the tears.

[And now he'll shut and lock the door...]

So let's see here. First it's time for ice cream and cuddles. Then we'll deal with how to make it all better.

[Priorities. Heal the heart first then the problem.]

As far as Émilie was concerned, he better had gone straight to bed. She really doesn't want to see a repeat performance, especially during the convention.

Unfortunately for him, she happens to cross paths with him and the first thing out of her mouth is... "Shouldn't you be at home resting?"

[Surprise breaks through the tired, worn expression on Fai's face as he's forced to accept the tiny dog in his arms. Not that it's in any way a hardship, given that he loves small fluffy animals and especially Kenti, but this was not exactly what he was expecting when he'd heard Jirou's voice at the door.

Jirou passing him the dog and stepping inside and locking the door all feels like a small whirlwind has just walked through the door. Fai looks dazed, holding Kenti to his chest within the blanket and staring at Jirou until the words sink in.

Ice cream and puppy cuddles. Jirou's solution to Fai's crisis is ice cream and puppy cuddles.

Fai squeezes his eyes shut as new, warm tears fill them. How did he ever get lucky enough to find a friend like this?

(Psst, Jirou, there's gelato in the freezer.)]

[Any tears that fall will be caught by a doggy tongue since Kenti is now making sure the sad human gets lots of kisses. Jirou lets him handle taking care of Fai while he goes through the kitchen to find what he needs. Aha! Gelato and spoons.

Bringing both over, he wraps an arm around Fai so he can drag him back to bed and pops open the gelato so he can offer Fai a bite of it.]

Open, open! Ice cream time!

[Honestly, Soujirou wouldn't have noticed at all usually. Tabloids and celebrity gossip have flown over his head for years and he's comfortable with stuff like that staying up there. Except he'd been to a checkup with his doctor, and in the waiting room there are all kinds of different magazines and most of them are terribly boring, but if it's between that and reading a pamphlet... yeah, even a boring magazine wins. And it's while scanning all those covers that he suddenly notices his supervisor's face on one of them.

It's not hard to imagine what Fai must be feeling now. For all that he seems so relaxed and cheerful most of the time, Soujirou somehow has a feeling that he cares much more what people think than he lets on. There's this little tension about him that doesn't ever quite drop away. Not to mention, his job... it could be pretty sensitive, something like that, couldn't it?

He can't really do much, though. He can't just call the tabloids and tell them that they're awful, awful people. Well, he can, but it won't accomplish much. So in the end, he opts for something more rational. This involves arriving early at work on Monday and letting himself into Fai's office, sitting down on his desk and waiting solemnly for his supervisor to arrive. Next to him on the desk is a small basket, sort of the thing you'd get as a "Get well"-gift. Chocolate, a scented candle, some face mask thingy that Kiyomitsu swears by, a cute little stuffed toy, and bottle of wine that he was told was supposed to be very nice.

There's also a card, simply reading: I'm sorry everything sucks right now. Feel better.]

Edited 2017-07-23 05:36 (UTC)

[Fai wraps himself around Kenti while Jirou is gone into the kitchen, and is pretty much a pushover when it comes to being led back to bed. His bedroom is small, much smaller than Jirou's gorgeous place, his one big concession to comfort a queen-sized bed all for himself. Since no one else ever comes in here--at least for the last few years, and definitely not without some kind of advanced warning--Fai's bedroom is the only real place in the apartment where all of the more personal clues about his past can be found.

There are pictures on the wall from when he used to perform, photos of himself in glamorous (or sometimes skimpy) outfits posing with other people. There's an antique music stand in one corner with a small host of musical instruments around it--a cello, a trumpet, and a violin, just at first glance. And there's an old framed photograph on the nightstand of two small, identical blond boys.

Fai doesn't care about any of that right now. If anyone was going to get a look at any of this stuff anyway, Jirou would be one of the friends he'd worry the least about. Instead he curls up on the edge of the bed and reaches around Kenti for a spoon.]

Sorry pup, you can't have any. There's chocolate in it.

[Considering how the end of last week (with Seto collapsing and being admitted to the hospital) and then the weekend went, Fai considers it something of a small miracle that he's going to work Monday morning at all. He'd been fully intending to quit his job on the spot, or at least once he'd calmed down enough to think rationally about it. He works with kids. Not just kids, but at risk kids. The office doesn't need this kind of publicity. Quitting would have saved the office that kind of scrutiny, and it would have saved Fai the sick anxiety of wondering when he'll be canned.

But he's going to work anyway, and if they fire him, they fire him. He deserves it, but at least he can tell his friends that it was out of his hands. He dresses as sedately as possible, a plain white shirt and a skinny black tie, and he takes a taxi to spare himself the spectacle of his bright pink car.

He... really, really wasn't expecting Soujirou to be in his office this morning, or a gift basket next to him.

Fai pauses in the open doorway for the span of several too-loud heartbeats, then quietly shuts the door behind him and takes a seat in the chair in front of the desk, the one facing Soujirou. And he drops his head into his hands without saying anything. He can't manage his fake cheer today. He just can't.]

[Much as he'd be alarmed if Fai tried to fake a smile through this, it's awful to see him like this. It's awful that he's been made to feel like this... for what? Stripping? Why would anyone even care about something like that? Soujirou is not so oblivious that he doesn't get that people will, or how bad this could be, but for the life of him he doesn't understand why.

It's Fai. He can remember, now, the utterly horrified look in his eyes when he saw Soujirou pick up that bottle and size up his opponents. He genuinely wouldn't hurt anyone if he could help it. But noooo, he used to take his clothes off for money once and apparently that means he needs public humiliation.

It's about this point that Soujirou realizes he's not just worried. He's angry.]

I'm so sorry. It's... unfair. [He knows how childish it sounds, and that only makes him more frustrated. Unselfconcious as always, he reaches out and puts his hand on Fai's shoulder, squeezing it gently.] You don't deserve this.

[It's difficult not to notice the tabloids eventually. It would be one thing if it was some article- Silver doesn't generally make a habit out of reading these things- but he's plastered all over the main page, and it's impossible to not read the details- and piss off someone when he doesn't buy it.

There's a brief pause as he considers the implications of this- sex work and helping foster kids aren't usually supposed to mix- but Fai never did anything bad to anyone. No one would have known, but it's being blasted like this anyway...

It pisses him off, but he waits for his temper to cool down before trying to contact Fai. Finding him on retrospec is a fortunately short task.]

I saw the news. If you want to call that news, anyway.

How are you holding up?

[The answer is somewhat delayed, partially because Fai is actually at work today and partially because he panics a bit as soon as he sees who the message is from. It was bad enough knowing in a broad sense that all of the city would be finding out about this, and it was bad enough to know that his friends knew. But his clients, the kids he's worked with over the last few years? That's enough to make him want to be sick. His hands might be shaking a bit as he types out a response on his phone.]

I've been better.

I'm so, so sorry you had to find out like this.

[He's been at work for five whole minutes and he's already crying. This is going to be a fantastic day.

Not that he blames Soujirou for that at all. Something would have set him off no matter what, he's pretty sure. It was only a matter of time. Better to get this over while he's with a friend than during an appointment or in front of his own supervisor. At the touch on his shoulder Fai lifts his head just a little, just far enough to wipe at the tears on his face with his fringe of blond hair still obscuring most of his expression, and takes a deep, shuddering breath.

His voice, when he speaks, is little more than a whisper.]

Thanks, Soujirou.

...I guess it was too much to hope that you wouldn't have heard about any of this.

[After spending most of the day at the shooting range, Tatsuo drops by a bakery to pick up the macarons he ordered for Fai. Four chocolate, four mint, and four rose. Nestled neatly into a pink box and tied with a bow. Because nothing says 'I'm sorry I made up a rumor about you and spread it' like a load of sugar.

However, that means he doesn't find out about the current hot topic until he is waiting to catch a bus to Fai's place. A lady at the bus stop is reading a tabloid with Fai and Seto's faces splayed across the front. Fai dating Seto is not news to Tatsuo, as Fai had been plenty open when Tatsuo asked who his boyfriend is.

No, it's the clickbaity secondary title that he can't stop glancing at. On the one hand, if it's true, it would explain the comment Fai once made to him about wasting a lot of time. But on the other hand, Tatsuo is not so keen to take anything a tabloid prints at face value, especially considering the reason behind the box of macarons in his hands right now!

The question running around in Tatsuo's mind as he rides the bus is whether Fai has seen it, and if so how does he feel about it? As he walks from the bus stop to Fai's building, Tatsuo sees the tabloid two more times, and each time he feels a flash of anger. By the time he reaches Fai's door, he has to stop and count to thirty before knocking.]

[By this point Fai can't even claim to be surprised by the knock on the door. His initial assessment that everyone in the city was going to find out about this is proving to be completely, horrifyingly accurate.

After the last visitor had left, Fai had curled back up into a ball in the big, fluffy blanket he's been wearing around like a robe and had sacked out on the sofa with his cats. He'd figured the television was safe enough as long as he didn't change the channels, just in case he happened to click by some local news or gossip outlet, so a show about summer barbecues on the Food Network is playing with the volume turned all the way down. Fai is taking turns napping and staring blankly at the screen.

It takes a minute for him to answer the door, but at least there's the telltale shuffle of feet on the wooden floors that indicates someone inside is alive and moving. He answers the door still wrapped in his blanket, his eyes still red and puffy from crying pretty much all day.

...shit, Tatsuo knows too? Fai averts his gaze, freshly mortified all over again.]

Hey.

[Kenti seems to understand and gives Fai's face a lick then curls up to press himself close so that way Fai can just cuddle the pain away with fluff. Such is the instinct of dogs honestly.

Jirou wiggles himself under the blanket with Fai so he can have his friend cuddled with him too. A dog in his lap, his girlfriend wrapped around him. All in the safety of this blanket. Making sure the gelato is within reach of them both, he gets a bite for himself too then gives Fai's hair a kiss.

There, there. He has him now. He'll help him feel safe for a little while.]

The way this place honed in on gossip like it was some sort of life force had always bothered Kurogane, but he'd learned to just ignore it. For the most part. Seeing the guy he'd met with such a weird headline on the cover startled him a little bit when he went through the checkout line with his apple and bottle of water after his run.

Without really thinking about it, he pulled out his phone and texted the number the guy'd given him when they first met. He was sure he was aware of it by now, the way gossip traveled here. It was like it was in the air itself.

I just wanted to say that your past doesn't matter to me. Anyone it matters to isn't worth worrying about.

I'm sorry. It's none of my business, but I saw...

[He sighs, shaking his head.]

Just the headline. I didn't check the article. It's just so petty.

[He can be plenty nosy when he wants to, especially when it comes to his friends, but he wouldn't go behind someone's back like that - especially concerning something he absolutely doesn't need to know the details of to know how he feels about it. He slides down off the desk, feeling awkward to hover over Fai like that, and instead crouches down in front of him, anxiously peering up at what he can see of his face.]

Please don't assume I think any less of you. It was just a job you had once, and it's not even like you did something bad. [Not that Soujirou would actually care much if he did. His loyalty only works in extremes.] People just like judging the stupidest things.

[Well, that pretty much answers whether Fai had heard about it and how he felt about it. The old urge to lash out in rage wells up, but Tatsuo takes a small breath and shoves it down as hard as he can. Instead, he musters up a small smile and holds out the pink box with its bow on top.]

I brought those macarons I promised you. Mind if I come in?

[ fai looks about the way majima expects. he might only peak through the door, but majima lets himself in anyway. a little more gentle than he would be usually, maybe, but he uses that gentle insistence to open the door. ]

Let's make ya some breakfast, okay?

[ once he's in fai's house he's just making his way to the kitchen. sorry fai.]

Ya got eggs in here somewhere?

[Fai doesn't put up much of a fight when Majima pushes his way inside the apartment, just closes the door behind him and quietly trails after him. The apartment is small but cozy, with wood floors, a dining table tucked into the breakfast nook, and a nice sized kitchen just to the right of that. The living room is full of bookcases in every available inch of wall space, all packed with paperbacks and bits of music paraphernalia, and the walls are covered with various artful photos of international locations and musical instruments.

He nods in response to the question. The kitchen is well stocked with mostly fresh foods, very little in the way of prepackaged or processed garbage. It's obviously a well-used room (pretty dishes, neatly organized utensils, a collection of cookbooks), although after his shopping trip yesterday there are still a few odds and ends left on the counter because Fai was too out of sorts to bother putting them away.]

The fridge.

[Thank you, Captain Obvious.]

They'd spoken a couple of times now, but getting a text from Kurogane was about the last thing Fai was expecting after the events of the last few days. Or maybe he was just hoping that at least a few of his friends and acquaintances had managed not to hear or read about this fiasco. No such luck.

He stared at the text message for several minutes before mustering up the energy to formulate a reply.

Thanks. Wish everyone felt that way. Not sure my job's going to see it that way.

Eggs'll fix just about fuckin' anything.

[ he helps himself to getting them out and goes through a couple cabinets before finding a frying pan and a bowl to mix the eggs in. he doesn't mind poking around a little bit, and it seems easier to let fai just relax without having to show him what's what in the kitchen. ]

Are ya hungover? I gotta great cure for that.

[ he cracks the eggs into the bowl and mixes them while he talks, keeping his eye on fai to make sure he's doing okay. well. as well as he can be. ]

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Rumours | Semi-open

Fai

sunday morning, fai's apartment

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[Saturday, Kaiba]

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Fai... at work... laughs into the night

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wildcard! For Fai, 7/24 I think?

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Saturday, Fai

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Fai

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